3 Amazing Strawberry Desserts

Our first spring we didn’t need a fence, we just used a few natural deterrents for the deer. But that was pre-chicken. Once we added free-ranging chicken and ducks to the farm, a true barrier was needed. It was nothing fancy, but only took a few evenings to erect. Our pallet and metal-pole barrier served us well.

But for now, our newly transplanted berry plants have some more growing to do. So when the urge hit to make some strawberry desserts and jams, we hopped in the car and enjoyed a beautiful blue-sky drive.

Please take a second to follow along on SoulyRested.com. (Just click “FollowThisBlog” in the right-hand column. ) You can snag a FREE 7-page, chock-full-of-information printable that will get you started on an unbelievably easy, unlimitedly rewarding journey of nature study with a child. The free printable even includes an ID page for studying mammals! And even the least science-oriented parent (or grandparent) ever can dive right in.

My adult and teen daughters piled out of the minivan at a local pick-your-own fruit farm with boxes and tin buckets in hand, as excited as they were every June, long ago. They’ve equated this month with strawberry picking for longer than they each can remember. Almost every June had one day set aside in that wonderful month–a month of summer joys before summer heat and humidity set in–to spend with red stained fingers, cheeks, and shirts, traversing among beautiful lush green rows that were always longer than their little Little Mermaid flip flops could carry them.

Our morning had plenty of reminders for this momma of those joyous days of their youth.

The beautiful green lines of mounds were polka dotted here and there with moms hunkered down and little ones skipping among the tall rows with red lusciousness in their crimson dyed hands.

When she overheard a family of middle schoolers complaining of boredom, one daughter lamented the thought that any child of any age could possibly not find the utmost joy in a strawberry patch. Because she herself had always adored picking the warm redness and savoring the scarlet sweetness until her stomach could handle no more.

We picked until we were content. Content with time under the azul canopy. Content with time among the long, lushly cultivated rows of pinnate-veined beauty. Content with time spent together, remembering the strawberry-coated stories of yesteryears.

Like the year Mom forgot to bring shoes for one toddler daughter, whose toes were red-under-the-nails discolored for weeks afterward, or the year they sat outside the grocery store, in the shade, with the two large boxes of berries between them, to keep the fruit cool while Mom shopped for pectin, sugar, and lemon juice. (Ever since, I’ve always made sure that the pantry had the pie and jam necessities before loading up the car with tender, just-picked berries.)

As the wonderful morning turned to a sticky, messy, jam-making afternoon, we decided to do much more than fill jelly jars for the root cellar and freezer.

In the early evening hours, at the end of a hard but lucrative day, I felt a little sick from the three-plus pounds of strawberries I must have eaten. But I felt oh-so blessed. There my daughters were, rolling the dough on the pie board their great grandmother had given their grandmother as a wedding present, using their great grandmother’s recipe for the crust, and referring to the worn 3×5 card showcasing their Great Aunt Jeanette’s handwriting for “Easy Strawberry Pie.” All this in a kitchen that had been the home of genuine, from-scratch food preparation for more than two centuries.

I am very blessed indeed. To share just a little of the deliciousness, here are three of the recipes we loved making together a few nights ago:

Three Amazing Things to Make With Fresh-Picked Strawberries

2. Strawberry pie. There are so many variations, but nothing comes close to my Aunt Jeanette’s “Easy Strawberry Pie.” To be fair, I wouldn’t call it all that “easy,” but it’s definitely all that worth it!

3. Strawberry pound cake. Layer thin slices of pound cake with vanilla ice cream and juicy, syrupy strawberries. You can slice the berries, cover with sugar, and let them sit at room temperature for about half an hour to have sweet syrup. But I prefer to mash the berries, creating instant juice and requiring no additional sugar. The slight sourness is a perfect complement to the sweet ice cream and rich cake.

Remember, take a second to follow along on SoulyRested.com. (Just click “FollowThisBlog” in the right-hand column. ) You’ll enjoy a FREE 7-page, chock-full-of-information printable that will get you started on an unbelievably easy, unlimitedly rewarding journey of nature study with a child (or grandchild). The free printable even includes an ID page for studying mammals! And even the least science-oriented parent (or grandparent) ever can dive right in. Really.

Hi! I'm Michelle. As a mom, veteran homeschooler & newbie homesteader, I love living the simple life. Some days are brimming with blessings and others overflowing with challenges, but on the latter, I make a conscience effort to "stand firm and remember that my labor in the Lord is not in vain." (I Corinthians 15)

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